Two Flames Meet
by Bibliomanzer
Summary: Chasing the Avatar's trail across the sea, Prince Zuko and his uncle Iroh come across the strange new Land of Fire, where ninja abound, but no benders exist at all. Secret Santa story for Chosha Kurenai.


**Author's Notes:** This is a Secret Santa fanfic for Chosha Kurenai. While I put my best into this story, I don't really care if anyone thinks it's good or not. I wrote it for her enjoyment, and if anyone doesn't like it, so be it. I do not own _Avatar: the Last Airbender_ or _Naruto_. They are both copyright to their respective owners.

Two Flames Meet

"Prince Zuko, are you sure you know where you are going?" Iroh asked, looking around at the vast expanse of ocean surrounding them.

"Of course I do," Zuko replied irritably. "What makes you ask that, foolish uncle?"

"Well," Iroh said, rolling his head slightly. "We've been at sea for two days now, without the smallest sight of land. Maybe the navigators have gotten us lost."

"They'll be fish feed if we are lost," Zuko grumbled, stepping towards the metal railing of the Fire Nation battleship he and his uncle were on. His fingers gripped the railing as he looked out towards the ocean. "The Avatar is out there somewhere, and I will find him."

*****

"Sir!" one of the deckhands called. "Land ahead!"

Zuko smirked softly. "The Avatar is there," he said. "I can feel it." He turned to Iroh. "See, old man, I told you I knew where I was going."

Iroh sighed. "You know where you are going," he mused, "but do you know what you will do once you arrive?"

"What kind of question is that?" Zuko scoffed. "I'll find the Avatar and bring him back to the Fire Nation."

"What makes you think this won't be like the last dozens of searches?" Iroh asked.

"Because this one has to be successful," Zuko answered softly. "It just has to be."

*****

"Hurry up, old man," Zuko called back to his uncle.

"Why... are you in such a rush?" Iroh panted. "Look at the beauty of this place. This forest, all of the trees. You should take a moment to stop and enjoy it."

"We don't have time to enjoy a bunch of lousy trees!" Zuko snapped back. "When we have the Avatar, maybe I'll follow your silly advice and just watch trees all day, but until then we need to keep going."

Iroh sighed. "Prince Zuko," he said. "You are in too much of a hurry to catch the Avatar, that you don't realize that sometimes, taking your eyes off of your target is the best way to find your target."

"What does that even mean?" Zuko asked.

"Look," Iroh pointed out, towards the trees. "Look at those trees. Normally, you'd look at them and think nothing was happening beyond them, because you're busy walking down the road. But if you stop and take your eyes from the path ahead and look at these trees, you might find a quicker path or something even better."

Zuko's eyebrow raised skeptically.

"What I'm saying is, sometimes you need to forget about your goals for just a moment and concentrate on something else," Iroh explained, "and your goal may just be right in front of you then."

Zuko scoffed. "Maybe that works for goals, but I'm looking for the Avatar," he said. "Now, let's go." He continued his hurried pace. Iroh rolled his eyes and tried to keep up with his hotheaded nephew.

*****

"Look up ahead," Zuko said. "Some kind of city. Maybe they've seen the Avatar." He looked back at his uncle, who looked ready to keel over.

"Maybe they've seen a decent bed and some tea," Iroh groaned. "I could use those after your little march, Prince Zuko."

Zuko looked down at his feet, which began to ache as he was no longer pushing them to keep moving. "I guess we could stop to rest our feet for a while and eat," he said. "We'll need to be well-rested and have our energy if we're to hunt the Avatar at our best."

Soon, Zuko and Iroh arrived at the gates of the town, two guards standing at either side of the gate. "Halt," one of the guards called to Zuko and Iroh. "What business have you here?"

"I am Prince Zuko, of the Fire Nation," Zuko said. "Where are we?"

"This," the other guard said, "is the Village Hidden in the Leaves, in the great Land of Fire."

"Land of Fire?" Zuko asked. _Maybe this place is similar to the Fire Nation?_ he thought. _It would be great to have like-minded allies to help me find the Avatar in this strange land._

"Yes," the first guard replied.

"Please," Iroh said, speaking up finally. "My nephew and I ask for passage through your fair village, to take in some food and rest. We've been walking for days and we would like to regain our strength."

"And," Zuko butted in, "I would like to see whoever is in charge of this village. I have a question I need answered that he might be able to help me with."

"Very well," one of the guards said. "Welcome to Konoha, strangers."

After being granted entrance into the village, Zuko and Iroh were led to the Hokage Tower. They ascended the stairs up to the Hokage's office, where the guard who led them there knocked on the door. "Tsunade-sama? There are people from outside the village who wish to have a word with you."

"Let them in," a female voice came from behind the door. The guard nodded and opened the door for Zuko and Iroh, who stepped into the office.

Sitting behind the desk at the end of the office opposite the doorway was the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, Tsunade. Standing at the side of the desk was her loyal assistant, Shizune, carrying Ton-Ton in her arms. "So, who are you?" Tsunade asked.

"I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation," Zuko answered. "And this is my uncle, Iroh." He gestured to the elder Firebender.

"And what is it that you want?" Tsunade asked.

"I am on a search for someone," Zuko replied, "and I wanted to know if you've encountered the person I'm looking for."

Tsunade hummed softly. "Could I get a description of this person?" she asked. "Are they a fugitive or criminal?"

"He appears to be young, but he is more than a century old," Zuko described the Avatar. "He is bald, with arrow-patterned markings over his body. He travels with two dark-skinned companions, a giant flying bison, and a strange flying monkey creature."

Normally, such a description would seem almost impossibly strange, but Tsunade had heard, and seen, stranger. What with a teenage demon-host and countless other oddballs in the village, a 100-plus year old kid and his bizarre animal companions wouldn't even raise an eyebrow. "Very well," she said. "Is that all?"

"Well, my nephew and I would wish to stay in your village for a few days, if you would be so kind," Iroh said. "We've been traveling for days and we wish to rest our feet and fill our bellies before we continue our journey."

"Very well," Tsunade said. "There are some inns around town that should have a vacancy or two."

"Thank you," Zuko said, with a small bow. Just a small one. It wasn't in his nature to bow completely to someone other than Lord Ozai.

"You know," Iroh said, having made his way to Tsunade's desk, leaning against it as he looked at the Hokage, "I think I'd enjoy a tour of your lovely village, hosted personally by you."

Tsunade glared softly at Iroh. "I have paperwork to do," she said curtly. "If that's all you need..."

"Uncle," Zuko said sharply. "Come, let us find a room at the inn before you make a bigger fool of yourself."

*****

"These people seem awfully nice," Iroh said, after getting settled in the room Zuko and Iroh had taken at the inn. "Very peaceful and friendly."

"Too friendly, if you ask me," Zuko said. "A land called the Land of Fire shouldn't be so welcoming and open-armed. If this place were more like the Fire Nation, I'm sure they'd be ruling the surrounding lands."

"Who's to say they aren't?" Iroh questioned. "These are new lands for us, Zuko. We don't know much about these people and their ways." He yawned. "If it's all the same to you, Zuko, I'm going to rest."

Zuko huffed. "Fine," he said. "I'll be out in the village."

*****

As Zuko walked around the village, taking in the sights of the buildings and people, he passed by a small shop.

"Ichiraku Ramen?" he read the sign. He huffed, before stepping in.

"Irasshaimase," Ayame, the waitress, said. "Can I help you, sir?"

Zuko took a seat, looking around, before looking back at Ayame. "What do you have here?" he asked.

Ayame almost laughed at that. "You must not be from around here," she said. "We serve ramen here, and all kinds of it. What kind would you like to try?"

Zuko looked at the menu before looking around again. "I'll have whatever he's having," he finally answered, gesturing to a blonde teen in an orange jumpsuit, who appeared to be gorging himself with the food. Ayame nodded, and went to prepare a bowl of ramen for Zuko.

As Zuko waited, he looked aside to the blonde sitting next to him. "You know, if you eat any faster, you'll choke," he said, disdainfully.

The blonde slurped up the last of the noodles in his mouth before looking aside at Zuko and replying. "But then how can I eat all I can before I get too full?" he joked, cracking a smile on his whisker-marked face.

Zuko rolled his eyes. _This place is definitely not like the Fire Nation,_ he thought. _These people don't deserve to carry the element of fire in their country's name._ "What logic," he mumbled.

"Hey, you aren't from around here, I can tell," the blonde said. "Who are you, anyway? I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation," Zuko replied.

"Prince?" Naruto asked. "That sounds cool. I haven't met much royalty before. A few princesses here and there, but not a lot."

"This place has royalty?" Zuko asked, almost as a cruel joke.

"Well, the Fire doesn't," Naruto said. "But a few of the other nations do. By the way, where is the Fire Nation?"

"Far across the seas, in a land where the Fire Nation rules supreme over the other countries," Zuko said. "Because fire is the only strong element. I'm suprised your country hasn't taken over the surrounding ones."

"Well, it's just not how the Hokage wants Konoha to go," Naruto said. "And it's not the shinobi way."

"Shinobi?" Zuko asked, the foreign word slipping off of his tongue.

"Yeah, shinobi," Naruto said. "Ninja. It's every ninja's goal to become a true shinobi to defend our village."

"Well, why are your villages hidden?" Zuko asked next.

"Every village has secrets," Naruto said. "Secrets we'd like to keep. So, he keep our villages hidden, and accessible only to our own shinobi or people we allow from other villages."

"Doesn't that eventually cause war?" Zuko asked.

"Yes," Naruto said. "There have been a lot of wars in our history. The most recent one was between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, after the Earth attacked the Land of Grass."

"Who won?" Zuko asked.

"We sorta won," Naruto said.

"Sort of?" Zuko asked, eyebrow raised. "Well, what happened to the Grass and the Earth?"

"Nothing," Naruto explained. "After the war, they went back to their business."

"That's it?" Zuko asked, perplexed. "You didn't take over the Earth or the Grass?"

"Why would we?" Naruto asked. "We only fought the Earth because they attacked the Grass without a real reason. And the Grass is between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, so we didn't want the Earth to have a straight path to our country."

Zuko didn't understand any of this. Why would a nation fight against another nation- and then just pull back and leave them alone? It was like this whole place was obsessed with peace and keeping everybody happy. "To each their own, I suppose," he muttered. By now, Ayame had returned with Zuko's bowl of ramen and placed it on the countertop before the prince. Zuko picked up the chopsticks nearby and pulled them apart. He scooped up some of the ramen and ate it. It tasted pretty good, he had to admit.

"First time eating ramen?" Naruto asked.

Zuko nodded. "It's good," he said simply.

"Good nothing," Naruto smiled. "Ichiraku has the best ramen in the world, in my opinion!"

_If this is the best ramen in the world_, Zuko thought, _it's at least one saving point for this weak nation._ He continued eating his ramen, and soon, the bowl was empty.

"Well?" Naruto asked, looking at Zuko.

Zuko sighed good-naturedly. "Alright, this is really good. If only we had this in the Fire Nation."

"Maybe they have ramen in the other countries where you come from," Naruto posited. "What are the other countries?"

"There are four nations where I come from," Zuko answered. "There's the Fire Nation, then the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes. The last nation, the Air Nomads, are all but gone." _Courtesy of the Fire Nation,_ he thought.

"All gone?" Naruto asked. "Like, no more left?"

"Well," Zuko said, "there is one Airbender left."

"Airbender?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"Where I come from," Zuko said, "we have these people called Benders. They can manipulate the energies of the element of our nation. I am a Firebender, and someone from the Earth Kingdom would be an Earthbender."

"Oh, we have things like that!" Naruto said. "Elemental Release jutsu. It's not really an inherent thing, but people of different villages tend to utilize the element of their own nation."

"Hm," Zuko hummed. "But anyway, the person I'm looking for is an Airbender. A young bald kid with arrow tattoos, and his friends, some dark-skinned Waterbenders."

"And a flying cow and monkey?" Naruto asked.

Zuko looked at Naruto intently. "You've seen them?" he asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "They were here yesterday before they headed north to Sunagakure."

"Where is this Sunagakure?" Zuko asked, standing up from her chair quickly.

"I just said north," Naruto said. "And they say I'm knuckleheaded. It's in the Land of Wind."

Zuko growled, ignoring the knuckleheaded comment. He turned around and ran out of the restaurant, heading back to the inn.

"Hey!" Ayame yelled. "You didn't pay for that!" She looked at Naruto, who merely shrugged with a soft smile, before shoveling more ramen into his voracious gullet.

*****

"Do we have to leave so soon?" Iroh grumbled, as his nephew paced around the room.

"The Avatar is here!" Zuko said. "He's heading north. We can still catch up to him. I almost have him in my grasp, and you want to take our time by sleeping and eating! We are leaving to get the Avatar, with our without help from these backwards ninja!"

Iroh sighed. He knew Zuko wouldn't listen to him now that he was in full-on Avatar Hunter mode.. "Very well," he said. "When are we leaving?"

"Now," Zuko curtly spat.

"Now?!" Iron groaned.

"We need to go before the sun sets," Zuko growled. "We don't know what things lurk in the woods in this land."

Iroh sighed loudly.

*****

After hours of walking, Iroh looked back at the image of Konoha, the bundle of buildings becoming more and more distant.

Zuko, however, cared not that they were further and further from the friendly Village Hidden in the Leaves. The farther they were from it, the closer they were to the Avatar.

He was going to catch the Avatar. Even if it meant walking every inch of the new lands. Next stop: the Land of Wind.


End file.
